If you’re brought up to love your curls or frizz, you can feel like some sort of disco goddess walking around with your waves blowing in the wind. If like many of us, however, you’ve been brought up by parents who both have completely different hair types who didn’t know how to handle that kind of texture, then you’ll have been through years of feeling like Sideshow Bob.

It’s not our parents’ fault; why would a white person know how to treat mixed hair when their own is so brushable and silky? Why would someone with afro hair know how to comb out and wash much finer hair than theirs?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Which is why Keisha Omilana has set up A Crown of Curls – a workshop that helps parents learn how to style and manage their mixed-race children’s hair.

‘At a play group in Chelsea, a mother complimented me and my daughter’s hair and asked how I got it so bouncy and perfect,’ Keisha tells Metro.co.uk.

(Picture: Keisha Omilana)

‘I gave her a quick, on-the-spot tutorial on how to do a twist-out and we became friends. She suggested I start a class to teach other mothers and fathers – particularly parents of mixed race children who don’t know how to care for or style natural, textured hair – what I had shown her.

‘I loved the idea of making life a little easier for other parents doing something I love that comes naturally to me, so I got to work.’

Over the coming year, she thought up a name, found a venue, and sourced event sponsors and put on her first A Crown of Curls London Workshop.

The problem is, of course, that parents don’t get any opportunity to find out about this kind of thing until they have their own kids – and sometimes it can be overwhelming to style a hair type you’ve never really come into contact with before.

‘I have clients who are truly and innocently clueless about how to care for and style mixed race hair.

‘Most just never had to think about maintaining a completely different hair texture from their own until they became parents of cute little curly-haired babies.’

And when parents don’t know what to do with their kids’ hair, Keisha says, that can have a devasting effect on how they grow up to see their own natural hair.

Advertisement

Advertisement

‘It has a huge effect on the child when their parents do not know how to maintain and style their hair. Whether I’m working with clients in my private one-on-one consultations or at my group workshops, I remind them they are their children’s first teachers, first support systems, first ideals of beauty, first encouragers – first everything.

‘If a mother believes her child’s curls are “difficult to manage”, “hard to handle”, or “need to be tamed”, whether she verbally expresses these feelings or not, the child will absorb this frustration, which can lead to self-esteem issues.

‘It is particularly important for mothers who are unfamiliar with textured hair to not only learn how to style and maintain their babies’ curls, but to embrace and love them. They must be sure to proactively affirm their children even before questions arise about their different hair textures. And when the questions do come, I advise my clients to answer: “Yes, your hair is not like mummy’s because it is a beautiful mix of mummy and daddy’s textures”.’

That’s when parents need to step in and show their children ‘all the cool and creative ways they can wear their hair’.

(Picture: Keisha Omilana)

‘Unfortunately, I have met far too many women who do not know how to love, let alone maintain or style, their own naturally curly hair,’ Keisha says.

‘These women generally feel this way because they were not taught to appreciate the beauty and versatility of their hair texture as a child. It really breaks my heart. But changing negative perceptions when it comes to naturally curly hair is what gave me the extra nudge to go for it and launch A Crown Of Curls.’

Advertisement

So, what advice does Keisha have for white parents of mixed race children for beginning to understand how their hair works and what to do with it?

‘Thanks to Google and YouTube’s trove of hair tutorials, any and every parent of a mixed race child should have no problem finding information on how Afros or curly hair work. But I suggest starting a little closer to home, where possible. Ask the women in your partner’s family for help and advice.

‘The first step is admitting you need assistance. One of my favourite clients reached out to me via email with the caption “HELP!” She was honest, open, and ready to learn everything she could about maintaining and styling her babies’ hair. She has twin girls and their hair textures are completely different.

Advertisement

‘I advised her to always treat the girls equally. To never show her frustration with the daughter with the kinky, curly coils. To always show and tell them how beautiful their hair is. Lastly, I explained how it all starts with her. If she is confident in doing their hair, they will grow up being confident with their natural, curly, kinky coils and curls.’